Kirkcaldy Corporation Tramways | |
---|---|
Operation | |
Locale | Kirkcaldy |
Open | 28 Feb 1903 |
Close | 15 May 1931 |
Status | Closed |
Infrastructure | |
Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) |
Propulsion system(s) | Electric |
Depot(s) | Oswald Road, Gallatown |
Statistics | |
Route length | 6.11 miles (9.83 km) |
Kirkcaldy Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Kirkcaldy between 1903 and 1931. [1]
Services started on 28 February 1903. [2] From 25 August 1906 through services were operated by the Wemyss and District Tramways Company on their route to Leven, Fife.
The power station was commissioned by the local authority and located in Victoria Road, Kirkcaldy. It was specially built to power the tramway. Construction began in 1899 to designs by local architect William Williamson, with the contractor McLaughlan of Larbert. Three Stirling boilers with five steam engines by Browett, Lindley & Co of Patricroft, drove alternators from Lawrence Scott and Electromotors of Norwich. The first power was produced in December 1902.
The Kirkcaldy Tramway had two main routes, a lower one extending into Dysart, and the upper one connecting with the Wemyss and District Tramways Company line. Both routes were linked by connections on Whytescauseway and St Clair Street.
From May 1906 to May 1907 it was reported that the tramway receipts increased £1,200 compared with the previous year, while receipts for Wemyss cars passing over the Kirkaldy lines amounted to £1,000. Kirkaldy cars carried 4.5 million passengers (an increase of 750,000 over the previous year), and the Wemyss cars over the Kirkaldy system were carrying 270,000 passengers. [3]
Despite a report from Alexander Kennedy and Sydney Donkin which recommended upgrading the system, the corporation failed to act, and system reliability was affected. In 1928, a bus service provided direct competition with the tram service.
Services were closed on 15 May 1931. Some of the tramcars remained in service with the Wemyss and District Tramways Company until this closed in 1932.
The Chesterfield and District Tramways Company and its successors ran a tramway system in the Derbyshire town of Chesterfield, England. The first horse-drawn line opened in 1882, and in 1897, the system was taken over by Chesterfield Corporation, who extended and electrified it in 1904 and 1905. Additional tramcars were purchased, but two had to be scrapped after a disastrous fire at the depot in 1916. The system suffered from a lack of maintenance as a result of reduced staffing levels during the First World War, and the trams were replaced by trolleybuses in 1927.
Derby Corporation Tramways was the tram system serving the city of Derby, England. It opened on 27 July 1904.
Dundee Corporation Tramways formerly served the City of Dundee in Scotland. The corporation had financed the construction of a horse tramway in 1877, but had then leased it to the Dundee and District Tramways Company. They had replaced most of the horse trams with steam tram locomotives pulling trailer cars from 1884, but in 1897 the corporation decided that it would run the tramway system itself. After some negotiation and the payment of compensation, they took over the system in 1899, with a view to electrifying it. Electric trams started running in 1900, and the changeover was completed in 1902.
Burton upon Trent Corporation Tramways was a tramway service in Burton upon Trent between 1903 and 1929.
The Scarborough Tramways Company provided an electric tramway service in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, between 1904 and 1931.
Cardiff Corporation Tramways was a company that operated an electric tramway service in Cardiff between 1902 and 1950.
Chester Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Chester between 1903 and 1930.
Burnley Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Burnley between 1901 and 1935.
Cambridge Street Tramways operated a horse-drawn tramway service in Cambridge, England, between 1880 and 1914.
Tyneside Tramways and Tramroads Company operated an electric tramway service in Gosforth, Wallsend and North Shields between 1902 and 1930.
Perth Corporation Tramways operated an electric tramway service in Perth, Scotland, between 1903 and 1929. Its headquarters were at 28 High Street.
Wemyss and District Tramways operated a tramway service between Leven and Kirkcaldy between 1906 and 1932.
Wigan Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Wigan, England, between 1901 and 1931. The first tramway service in the town was run by the Wigan Tramways Company, whose horse trams began carrying passengers in 1880. They began replacing horses with steam tram locomotives from 1882, but the company failed in 1890 when a Receiver was appointed to manage it. The Wigan & District Tramways Company took over the system in 1893 and ran it until 1902. Meanwhile, Wigan Corporation were planning their own tramway system, obtaining an authorising Act of Parliament in 1893, and a second one in 1898. This enabled them to build electric tramways, and in 1902, they took over the lines of the Wigan & District Tramways Company.
Bath Tramways Company and its successors operated a 4 ft horse drawn tramway service in Bath between 1880 and 1902. From 1903 until its closure in 1939 an expanded route carried electric trams operated by Bath Electric Tramways Company.
Rhondda Tramways Company operated a tramway service in Rhondda, Wales, between 1904 and 1934.
Halifax Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England between 1898 and 1939. After considering lifts and inclined planes to assist trams in negotiating the steep hills to the south of the town, they obtained permission to build a conventional system in 1897, and the first three routes opened in 1898. By 1905 there were 37 miles (60 km) of track and 96 tramcars, supplied by two manufacturers. In 1921, an additional route was added to the system, and the Corporation embarked on a programme of building their own tramcars, some of which replaced existing vehicles, while some extended the fleet. During the 1930s, the trams were gradually replaced by motor buses, either run by the Corporation or by private companies, and the last tram ran on 14 February 1939.
Huddersfield Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Huddersfield, England, between 1883 and 1940. It initially used steam locomotives pulling unpowered tramcars, but as the system was expanded, a decision was taken to change to electric traction in 1900, and the first electric trams began operating in February 1901. The system was built to the unusual gauge of 4 ft 7+3⁄4 in, in the hope that coal wagon from neighbouring coal tramways, which used that gauge, could be moved around the system. This did not occur, but two coal trams were used to delivered coal to three mills.
The Provincial Tramways Company was a holding company for horse tramway companies in various regional towns of England. It was floated in July 1872 by means of a prospectus inviting public subscription for shares in the new company. The published prospectus lists the towns where it was proposed to operate horse tramways as Plymouth. Cardiff, Dundee. Portsmouth. Southampton and Tynemouth. Initially those in Plymouth and Cardiff were constructed and in operation as reported to the half yearly meeting of the company in 1873.
Bradford Corporation Tramways were a tramway network in the city of Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England which operated trams from 1882 until 1950 and trolleybuses from 1911 until 1972. The track gauge of the tramways was 4 ft.
Stockport Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Stockport, England, between 1901 and 1951. It was preceded by a horse tramway from Levenshulme to Stockport, which opened in 1880, and was ultimately run by the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company. A second independent horse tramway opened in 1890, running to Hazel Grove. In 1899 the Corporation bought the first line, electrified it, and leased it back to the operating company. Their powers to buy the Stockport and Hazel Grove Tramway, authorised by the same Act of Parliament, were not exercised until 1905.